ESPN Analyst Puts Caleb Williams in Top 10, Ahead of Jordan Love and Jared Goff

ESPN analyst Ben Solak ranks Caleb Williams as a top-10 NFL quarterback, putting the Bears star ahead of Jordan Love and Jared Goff entering 2026.

Chicago Bears QB Caleb Williams watches a Southern California basketball game. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Caleb Williams' breakout season in 2025 didn't just earn him a dedicated following among Chicago Bears fans. It also forced analysts to reconsider how they view the former first-overall pick. ESPN's Ben Solak joined The Mina Kimes Show for her 2026 QB Rankings episode, and he ranked Williams as the No. 8 quarterback, higher than any of his NFC North counterparts.

Chicago Bears QB Caleb Williams greets a Minnesota Vikings player after a game. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-Imagn Images | Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

Caleb Williams turned his weaknesses into strengths

Defending his choice to take Williams at No. 8, ahead of Green Bay's Jordan Love and Detroit's five-time Pro Bowler Jared Goff, Solak told Kimes that his one objective in their mock draft of starting NFL quarterbacks "was to walk out with Caleb Williams", and his reasoning makes perfect sense. "If you are a below-average sack rate guy while also being a league leader in terms of low interceptions," Solak said, "I'm buying it because you are avoiding the negatives."

Kimes chimed in with her own take on what makes Williams a great quarterback, and the stats she shared should be exciting for Bears fans. She noted that when Williams threw the ball in rhythm, which is defined as releasing the ball between 2.5 and three seconds after the snap, "He was second in EPA per drop back to Drake Maye, and third in QBR."

These were two of Williams' biggest problems in his rollercoaster rookie season with the Bears: playing on time and taking too many sacks. In just one year with Ben Johnson, however, these weaknesses have become strengths. Now, Williams is almost impossible to bring down, and when he plays in the rhythm of Ben Johnson's offense, he's among the best in the league.

What does this mean for Bears fans? That, as good as the 2025 season was, there's still so much more room for improvement for Caleb Williams, and there's no reason not to believe that he won't continue to develop. It's been a long time since NFL analysts picked a Bears quarterback as one of the league's very best, but it's hard to argue with Solak and Kimes' reasoning.

Chicago Bears QB Caleb Williams passes the ball against the Detroit Lions. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images | David Banks-Imagn Images

What will 2026 look like for Caleb Williams?

The development that we saw from Williams between Year 1 and Year 2 is what gives Bears fans so much hope for the future. The last two Bears quarterbacks didn't show that kind of growth at any point in their careers, let alone after just one offseason. That leads us, of course, to one question: what's next for Caleb Williams in 2026?

Williams faces some brutal QB matchups in 2026 that will be a true test of his mettle, including a Week 15 showdown with the 2024 MVP, Josh Allen. However, none of these games on his schedule looks unwinnable. Based on what we saw from Williams last year, including the last-minute heroics that earned him the moniker "Iceman", one could reasonably see him leading the Bears to victory in each of their 17 games.

That's not to say the Bears should go 17-0 this year, obviously. But you know that in all of their matchups, there's a path to victory for the Bears, and it starts and ends with Caleb Williams. Taking him as the No. 8 quarterback in the NFL seems like the right spot for him right now, but if he continues to develop his game and sharpen his weak points, by this time next year, we could very well consider Williams the NFC's Patrick Mahomes.

Chicago Bears QB Caleb Williams celebrates after a game against the Eagles. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

The Bottom Line

While some people may still cling to their perceptions of Williams in his rookie season, leading to lazy comparisons for the 2026 Bears, the fact is that he's already proven capable of not only refining his game but also flipping weaknesses into strengths. Is he already an elite quarterback? No, but he's well on his way to becoming one, and there's no reason to think that he's going to suddenly regress in his second year with the same coaches and the same offensive system.

As for ranking Williams ahead of his NFC North rivals, most notably Green Bay's Jordan Love, that will doubtlessly be a controversial talking point for the other fanbases in the division, but it matches my own NFC North quarterback rankings. Love and Goff may have more accomplished resumes (as they should, seeing as they've been in the NFL for several years more than Williams), but in a projection of the future, I'm taking Williams over either of them ten times out of ten.

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